A significant decrease in consumption of transport fuels noted the Union of fuel traders and the worst is the situation of gasoline consumption which fell by over 30 per cent compared with 2008. This stated the president of the union Michalis Kyusis specifically for GRReporter. After announcing that about a thousand stations have been closed since the beginning of the year, GRReporter contacted the labour organization of fuel traders and they informed us in detail about the problems in the sector and its future development.
"The crisis in our sector began two years ago and things have deteriorated dramatically in the last year," said Kyusis. "Unfortunately, we are not just talking about 1000 stations with financial problems." He explained that around 800 petrol stations are out of business this year and the main reason lies in reduced consumption. Another 1000 owners of petrol stations are on the brink of bankruptcy. Many of the stations earn only enough to cover their costs in recent months.
When asked what are the reasons for this, Michalis Kyusis succinctly stated: "There is no money." Of course the most logical explanation is the economic crisis, but nevertheless, all those living in Greece know that Greeks are addicted to their cars. They are first in their choice of transport in urban environments and the traffic in major cities of the country as Athens and Thessaloniki has not dropped despite the difficulties. This seems to be the situation only at first glance because Kyusis refuted. “Everything rose sharply, excise duties were increased three times this year, salaries in the public sector dropped, layoffs and bankruptcies began in the private one. People are driving their cars less," explained the trader.
According to Kyusis, the other problem which creates additional difficulties in the marketing of fuels is the blocking of the construction sector. Transport fuels such as naphtha are the most frequently used by freight vehicles engaged in construction. The decline of the construction sector along with other key sectors of the economy has negative consequences on petrol stations. He explained that gas stations owners reduce operating costs, staff, volume of supplies as much as possible. "There are stations that actually work just two of the six working days a week," said Kyusis.
The president of the Union of fuel traders fuel Michalis Kyusis said retail distributors are forced to sell heating oil at wholesale prices only to be able to raise money to cover the current checks. The current price of heating fuel is around 0.72 euros per liter and retailers do not earn much. Additional liquidity problems are due to the retention of tax payable by the state to dealers who are currently exhausted by the lack of cash.
GRReporter also asked representatives of the real business for their opinion concerning the market situation. Owner of two stations in the Attica region, who asked to remain anonymous, told us that fuel prices have risen by a total of 60 percent for traders in the last two years. He has been in business for 20 years and stressed that this year is particularly difficult. The customer flow has not decreased but they no longer fuel to the top," he said. He stated that the overall decline in the consumer income and standard, and the increased excise duties on fuel prices play a crucial role in the turnover of petrol stations. According to him, this year’s turnover has decreased by around 30% compared to the turnover two years ago and the trends are the problems to worsen if the government resorts to further restrictive measures.
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